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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 23, 2017)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Thursday, March 23, 2017 OTHER VIEWS Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN Publisher DANIEL WATTENBURGER Managing Editor TIM TRAINOR Opinion Page Editor MARISSA WILLIAMS Regional Advertising Director MARCY ROSENBERG Circulation Manager JANNA HEIMGARTNER Business Office Manager MIKE JENSEN Production Manager OUR VIEW Remove M-44s from Oregon It has been a bad month for fact that taxpayers have spent a lot of money — and our government Wildlife Services. has spent a lot of time — working The federal agency accidentally killed a wolf in Wallowa County on their recovery. Each accidental with an M-44, a cyanide-based trap death , especially those caused that shoots poison into the mouth of by the government, increases the a canine. The traps are intended for money taxpayers will pay to fend coyotes. Just a week later, a family off lawsuits, and the more active dog was killed by government will an M-44 in Idaho, have to be in wolf Wildlife Services do recovery. The and a young boy who was nearby active the important, difficult more was injured when management, the the trap went off. work that saves the higher the cost. And, as a side The incidents lives of many were matching note, it’s a good black eyes for an to talk about animals by culling time agency that likes how wolves help to stay out of the control coyote those causing a headlines as it populations. problem. kills hundreds But it isn’t just of thousands of about money. nuisance animals Placing something in our woods that indiscriminately across the country each year. That kills canines — be they wolves or list includes pigeons and starlings, coyotes and badgers and bears. When coyotes or family dogs — is not wildlife becomes a problem, Wildlife smart. For the safety of our family pets, and our family members out Services likes to be the solution. traipsing around the hills, removing And in plenty of cases they do all M-44s makes sense. important, difficult work that saves Oregon has put so much money the lives of many animals by culling and so much effort into improving those causing a problem. In other and conserving the environment in instances they are killing non-native and invasive species en masse, doing our state, for the benefit of elk and the difficult work that many of us are salmon and forests and water and humans and wolves. Any fatal actions incapable of doing. must be taken with extreme caution. Still, there are problems. And a Paying government trappers to black eye can cause people to notice those problems. A pair leads to some kill predators may seem like a 19th Century concern, but it’s happening serious questions. to this day in rural Oregon. There is M-44s are one such problem still some need for it, but it should for a state that has an increasing be updated to include 21st Century wolf population. Maybe you don’t technology and ethical and social like wolves and hope they are mores. poisoned. But you cannot argue the Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board of publisher Kathryn Brown, managing editor Daniel Wattenburger, and opinion page editor Tim Trainor. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. YOUR VIEWS Fire bond won’t pick up where old tax left off I attended the last Pendleton City Council meeting on March 7th. I told the council that their fact sheet on the fire bond is not correct. Their fact sheet says that with the retirement of two bonds, the net increase would be $0.14 per $1,000, or $1.80 per month for the same property. These two bond issues were paid off on your 2016-2017 property tax bill. You will not start paying for the fire bond until November 2017. It will be $0.62 per $1,000 of assessed value. These false fact sheets are still on the counter at City Hall. The council has an attorney and the head man at the county tax office on the city council. Something is wrong here; why was this grave mistake not corrected? I am not blaming the EMTs or the fire personnel, I think the blame goes much higher than that. I cannot vote for a bond issue that I think I was lied to about. Rex J. Morehouse Pendleton A case to keep drug court In response to the article about Drug Court funding being cut, published March 16, 2017: The Drug Court program has lowered recidivism, lowered crime rates and lowered demands upon first responders and the court system in Umatilla County. In short, it has, and continues to save money and save lives. The program should be retained. In the interest of clarity, we provide the following vital information which was not covered in the original article: 1. Any cut directly affects not just the Drug Court program but those receiving post-prison supervision treatment and those in the jail program as well. 2. The biannual review by the state Criminal Justice Committee (CJC) is routine and resulted in a finding of “moderate to needs improvement,” attributing the findings to new staff. That reflects the training implemented by the program manager himself. Had the staff been trained properly the scores would reflect such. 3. There have been problems with morale and stress within this department due to administration of the program for some time. Several employees have been forced to take time off for stress-related illness, some have moved within the county to other areas because of this, and others have left altogether, creating a high-turnover. 4. Two senior alcohol and drug counselors were placed on administrative leave before the CJC review under an investigation instigated by the program manager, which was determined to be unsubstantiated. This baseless investigation cost the taxpayers money, and hurt the program at the time it was being reviewed. 5. Staff have attempted to discuss the situation with the county commissioners several times, in an effort to alleviate tension within Community Corrections and address the immediate issues that have led to the “shortcomings” mentioned in the CJC review. These requests were repeatedly denied. Drug Court may be one of the most cost-effective programs in Umatilla County. With appropriate management it could be even better. We invite you to join us in asking tough questions of the people in charge of our tax money. Debbie Swenson, president Aaron Engum, vice president AFSCME Local 3742 Pendleton LETTERS POLICY The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Submitted letters must be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. Send letters to managing editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com. How pundits got key part of Trump-Russia story all wrong key talking point in the theory support providing lethal defensive that Donald Trump and the weapons to Ukraine’s armed forces Russians conspired in the and greater coordination with NATO 2016 election is the allegation that on defense planning. Simultaneously, last summer, during the Republican we call for increased financial aid for convention, the Trump campaign Ukraine, as well as greater assistance in changed the GOP platform to weaken the economic and humanitarian spheres, its stance on Russia’s aggression in including government reform and Ukraine. anti-corruption.” Byron It’s been cited by Democrats and When Denman proposed her York anti-Trump pundits many, many times. amendment, a Trump national security Comment The only problem is, it’s all wrong. aide named J.D. Gordon, who was in The reason it’s wrong is this: To the room, wanted to edit it. According allege that the platform was weakened, you to Denman, Gordon got on the phone, saying he have to know what it was in the first place. was calling “New York” to discuss the changes. What did the original draft of the platform The end result was that at the behest of the say about Russia and Ukraine? Was it, in fact, Trump campaign, the platform committee took changed? If so, how? out the reference to “lethal defensive weapons.” As it turns out, a look at the original draft of But it approved her statement of support for the platform — which has never been released maintaining, and possibly increasing, sanctions publicly — shows that against Russia, and, in it always had tough the place of lethal aid, language on Russian substituted a pledge to The GOP platform, aggression in Ukraine. provide “appropriate already fairly strong on assistance to the armed And not only did that language stay in the final forces of Ukraine” and to the Russia-Ukraine platform — nothing work more closely with issue, was strengthened, NATO. Here is the final was taken out — it was actually strengthened, not language that was added not weakened, weakened, as a result of to the platform as a result events at the convention. of Denman’s amendment: as a result of the The controversy “We support subcommittee meeting. maintaining and, if is over a chapter in the original platform warranted, increasing headlined “America sanctions, together with Resurgent.” The original draft discussed Russia our allies, against Russia unless and until and Ukraine in two parts of the chapter. The Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity first passage warned of “a resurgent Russia are fully restored. We also support providing occupying parts of Ukraine and threatening appropriate assistance to the armed forces of neighbors from the Baltic to the Caucasus.” Ukraine and greater coordination with NATO The second passage was more expansive defense planning.” and began by noting a desire to maintain a “The platform ended up tougher than it friendship with “the people of Russia.” But started, compared from the beginning to the better relations are made more difficult, the draft end,” Denman told me, although she added she said, by “the continuing erosion of personal still believes her lethal aid provision should liberty and fundamental rights under the current have been included in the final document. officials in the Kremlin”: Nevertheless, not long after the platform “Repressive at home and reckless abroad, subcommittee meeting, The Washington Post their policies imperil the nations which regained published a story headlined, “Trump campaign their self-determination upon the collapse of guts GOP’s anti-Russia stance on Ukraine.” It the Soviet Union. We will meet the return of charged that Trump had weakened the platform, Russian belligerence with the same resolve and a new conventional wisdom began to form: that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Trump team, doing the bidding of Vladimir We will not accept any territorial change in Putin, gutted the GOP platform’s position on Eastern Europe imposed by force, in Ukraine or behalf of Russia. elsewhere, and will use all appropriate measures That is precisely the opposite of what to bring to justice the practitioners of aggression happened. In the end, the platform, already fairly strong on the Russia-Ukraine issue, was and assassination.” strengthened, not weakened, as a result of the That wasn’t exactly a pro-Russia or subcommittee meeting. The Trump campaign pro-Putin statement. And it stayed in the final agreed to a platform condemning Kremlin Republican platform. belligerence, calling for continued, and perhaps So how did the Trump-weakened-the-GOP- increased, sanctions against Russia, for the full platform narrative get started? It appears it was unwittingly set in motion by a single Republican restoration of Ukrainian territory, for refusing to delegate, a Texas woman long active in GOP accept “any territorial change in Eastern Europe politics named Diana Denman, who proposed imposed by force, in Ukraine or elsewhere,” to add a couple of paragraphs to toughen the and pledging to aid Ukraine’s armed forces. original platform’s position on Ukraine. This is The bottom line is that almost nothing in the the key part of her proposed amendment: Trump-weakened-the-GOP-platform narrative “The Ukrainian people deserve our is as it seems. Whatever the full story of Trump admiration and support in their struggle, and in and Russia in the 2016 campaign turns out to their efforts to strengthen the rule of law, forge be, it will only be revealed by examining what a free market economy, and expand democratic actually happened, not by repeating talking governance. We therefore support maintaining points. (and, if warranted, increasing) sanctions ■ against Russia until Ukraine’s sovereignty and Byron York is chief political correspondent territorial integrity are fully restored. We also for The Washington Examiner. A